Temple pulls April Fools' joke with lowercase 't'

The university joked that changing the logo to a lowercase 't' would prove that it's an ever-evolving, world-class institution.

In celebration of April Fools’ Day, Temple said it was changing its iconic “T” logo to a lowercase serif “t” as featured here.Read moreTemple University

by Michael Boren

Published Apr. 1, 2018, 9:09 a.m. ET

Temple University is changing its logo to a lowercase 't' – a move sure to outrage students and alumni across the country.

OK, just kidding. April Fools, folks.

The university put out an amusing press release about the supposed change Sunday morning, along with some great photos:

The new logo will be a lowercase serif "t" to more accurately represent the Temple of today – an ever-evolving, world-class institution.

"The university community advocated for a logo that was more modern," said Associate Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Communications Emily Spitale. "We're attracting and retaining renowned faculty. Groundbreaking research is happening here. We just had our first Rhodes Scholar. It's time for a modern logo to show that we are, and have been, an institution on the move."

In addition, the university reasoned, younger people respond more positively to lowercase type (wait, it may be on to something there …).

Some people saw right through the joke on Twitter, but not everyone.

The actual logo came about more than 30 years ago, when a group of students from the Tyler School of Art presented it to administrators to celebrate the university's 100th anniversary.

Temple officials say the "T" signifies strength and positive character.

"Every time I see it now, I swell with pride," President Richard M. Englert said in his 2016 State of the University address. "When I see it, I see greatness and excellence and creativity and innovation. Knowing that it was designed by Temple students under the guidance of a Temple professor in a Temple academic classroom in Temple's nationally renowned art school makes it all the more special."

If you want to get really technical about the design, here is how the university athletics website describes it:

The T is stylized, geometric and logo-like and yet maintains a basic, identifiable form – a simple T, but one which is at the same time both simple and complex. It is really a kind of optical illusion.